Rear driver side tire went flat. ($35)
PCV Valve was shot. ($5, replaced myself)
Spark plug and wires replaced. ($50, replaced myself)
Small oil leak.
Transmission fluid is horrible!
Hole in muffler.
Front seats look like wild bear with very sharp claws was left in car for days.
Antenna is very crooked and starts frantically shaking at 50 mph +
Radiator was severely cracked, but patch kit is working miracles! ($10)
Fuel filter was shot. ($10, replaced myself)
Car will die sometimes within the first couple minutes once you come to a stop. Sometimes after driving for quite a while, car will die once coming to stop. It always starts back up!!
Basic windshield wiper, air filter, etc replacements.
Rust. Lots of rust.
Gas mileage is horrible. Possibly need to replace fuel pump.
Car is leaking something. Maybe the oil, maybe radiator fluid, maybe gas. I get asphyxiated sometimes in traffic jams.
Gas gauge does not work unless you have 1/4 of a tank or less. Bad float probably.
I bought the car for $50 from a friend of a friend who thought the head gasket was going when actually the car was leaking massive amounts of oil due to a car garage not putting the oil plug back in correctly.
Everytime I think I have fixed everything, something else goes wrong, but the parts are cheap and easy to replace yourself. I know nothing about cars, but if you can turn a screw you're in luck with this car. Everything is very accessible.
The car has it's original radio, which still works great! It also has it's original carpeting, car jack, spare, etc which are all in excellent condition.
Actually I couldn't ask for a better car. It always starts up, no matter how cold or hot it is outside or how hard I've been driving it. It'll never let me down and that thing will go forever.
!LOL! Your review is making me laugh because I also had one of those and pretty much... almost all the problems you had, I also did too! Yeah, I remember how that car would just never ever wanna die... it just kept on going and I just kept on fixing it. I spent about $2000 getting her all together, but, when I finally got her all fixed up, she was as quite as a Lexus! I mean, the car would be so quite and vibration free at stoplights, that I thought the engine went out!I got that car in 94 and I sold that car back in 1998... since then I've had a 1991 Honda Prelude Si and now I have a 1993 Mazda MX-3... and this MX-3 is very nice.
Anyway, do take care and have a good one!
I bought a Toyota Tercel HATCHBACK 1983 in 1996. It is a good car. I find parts in the local commerce in Nicaragua. I searched in Internet and it seem I can find part in Madison, Wisconsin. It was shocked and was repaired when I bought it. It doesn't have he AC any more. It has a good mileage (55 km per gallon). My wife says it is too hot in the passengers sear.
It has some oil leaking, but I put something in the cap under the oil system.
I lost the thermometer of the radiator. It doesn't have the speedometer (odometer). But it is a good car and I go everywhere in it.
My very first car was an 83 Tercel, Bought it for $150.00 back in 1994. It was a great car the only thing I ever had to replace was the thermostat and the exhaust... I think all-together it cost me about $200.00 to get her running great again. I drove her for 5 years without a problem. my ex husband sold her out from under me while I was gone one day for $600.00. I was soooo P.O.ed. Wish I had her back, if you ever stumble apon one my advice would be to buy it.
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